Hans and Lotte Hass

Hans was fascinated with the underwater world he saw through his first goggles, and decided that he wanted to devote his life to studying it. Hans took his first underwater photos while free diving in Dalmatia in 1938; his first book “Hunting Underwater” was published the following year.

Wife Lotte began as his assistant, seizing the opportunity to dive when one of the cameramen left an early project. She soon became an essential part of these expeditions, bringing a fresh perspective to the filming process, as she proved that a woman could do at least as well underwater as a man could.

Hans Hass was a pioneer underwater photographer, filmmaker and scientist, studying for his Doctorate in marine biology at the zoological station in Naples. In 1949 Hans visited Port Sudan, where he dived alone, having been told by all the experts that he would surely be eaten by the famous Red Sea sharks. By 1950 he returned with another team of six, including Lotte. Together they made the film “Adventure in the Red Sea”, or “Under the Red Sea” as it later became known. The film won first prize for major documentaries at the Venice Bienniele film festival in 1951.

Hass has published many books, including “Aus der Pionierzeit des Tauchens’’ (“From The Pioneering Days Of Diving”), and has made more than 100 films about the underwater world. Among many awards they have won, are those from the Historical Diving Society.